S1 E5 · Practice Guide
The Transformation Reality Check
Free companion workbook · The Truth About Layoffs
When organisations call a layoff a transformation, they don't protect the organisation — they erode the trust required to rebuild it. This guide is the companion to S1 E5 of Brave Proximity, where Marissa Green and Susan Page expose the human cost of corporate spin and make the case for a different kind of leadership during hard news: one where clarity is treated as kindness, not a liability.
What’s inside
The Language Audit
1
A plain-language check on the words your organisation uses during difficult changes. If you wouldn't say it to the person across the table, it probably doesn't belong in the all-hands either.
The Spin Detector
2
Three phrases that signal your organisation is using transformation language to avoid a harder, more honest conversation — and what to say instead when the room is waiting for the real thing.
The Survivor's Pulse
3
For leaders navigating what comes after a restructure. A reflection tool for the people who are still there, still uncertain, and still watching to see what leadership does next.
The Honest Communication Script
4
Word-for-word language for being the leader who tells people what's actually happening — without overstepping, speculating, or making promises you can't keep.